


gold into flax, and where did you go?

by ItsAlwaysBloodMagic



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Also there's Ardyn, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Fairy Tale Retellings, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Magic, Magical Realism, Plot, Strangers to Lovers, Witches, Wizards, but he gets it in the end
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 16:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15975701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsAlwaysBloodMagic/pseuds/ItsAlwaysBloodMagic
Summary: He left, and they spun, and their flax was the color of gold.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I exist, and I wrote a thing!
> 
> This is a retelling of a beautiful fairy tale called The Water Lilly, The Gold-Spinners. The main pairing is Promptis. The original fairy tale can be found in _The Blue Fairy Book_ by Andrew Lang, and I highly recommend reading it if you haven't already.
> 
> Chapters are short, and this is mostly written, so expect frequent-ish updates. There are five chapters total. The first is a prologue, and hardly counts as a chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Come find me on Tumblr.](https://itsalwaysbloodmagic.tumblr.com/)

‘The world is not a safe place,’ Ardyn said, and they spun.

‘I am going away,’ Ardyn said, and they spun.

‘Do not open the door for any man,’ Ardyn said, ‘or the flax will tarnish and fade .’

He left, and they spun, and their flax was the color of gold.

* * *

There was a door at the top of the stairs, a door that led into an attic. The door was locked. They did not know what was behind it. They did not know what happened to their flax after they spun it, or why they were able to make flax out of gold. They did not know where he went when he left. They did not know their own names. Only that there were three of them, and that he called them a number. One number, three boys.

One number, three boys.

Three boys, three secrets, three names they kept to themselves.

Secrets hold power. Names hold power. And someday they would escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love fairy tales and I love screaming about these boys even more, so feel free to drop a comment!
> 
> [Come find me on Tumblr.](https://itsalwaysbloodmagic.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Come find me on Tumblr.](https://itsalwaysbloodmagic.tumblr.com/)

“Bet you can’t beat me to the fork in the road.”

Gladio looked sideways at Noctis and gave a big, slow grin. “Oh, you’re on.” He cracked his knuckles and urged his chocobo forward with his heels. Noctis’ protests about cheating were swallowed up by the dust kicked up in his wake.

From behind Noctis, Ignis gave a chuckle. “You’d better catch up,” he said. “It wouldn’t do to have the Prince of Lucis bested by his Shield in a simple chocobo race.” 

“Whatever,” Noctis said. He rolled his eyes and gave his chocobo’s reins a flick. It was the strangest thing - no matter how hard he rode, he couldn’t seem to keep up. Soon, Gladio was a speck in the distance, Ignis’ voice was lost to the wind, and his chocobo was flagging. Maybe the wrong greens. Or a lazy chocobo. Either way, he wasn’t winning.

A crossroads drew near. It was punctuated by an old, weathered signpost. He approached it and found that the sign was unreadable. No matter how hard he squinted, the words seemed to shift under his gaze. 

His chocobo decided that was that. She pulled to a stop, fluffed her feathers, and shook her head, then gave a half-hop forward and tossed Noctis to the ground.

“Ow!”

She ignored Noctis’ reproachful look, so Noctis ignored her. He stood and dusted off his pants, but the dirt clung stubbornly. It was probably all over his face, too. It always was. Every. Single. Time. 

Things were not looking good. His retainers were long gone, he was lost, and when he looked around, he realized his chocobo had up and disappeared. 

With little else to do, he sat down, leaned against the signpost, and fell asleep.

* * *

The forest had changed.

It was subtle, and it started before Noctis even opened his eyes. The trill of a bird shook him awake gently, and he couldn’t find it within him to be irritated about it. A chipmunk ran over his calf, then returned to stare at him like he was the stranger here. It made him feel – something. Like he needed to defend himself. From a chipmunk. Which, well, it wasn’t very princely of him.

“I’m your prince”, he mumbled. He willed himself back to sleep. It didn’t work.

The chipmunk tilted its head to one side, as if to question him.

“I swear,” he said. He pushed himself up to sitting. 

A gentle wind danced across his face, carrying the faint sound of pipes along with it.

“What on Eos –”

He reached down to dust the dirt off his pants, then found there was no dirt. The soft forest floor had cradled him through the – afternoon? Night? Anyhow, it was covered in a carpet of green moss. It’d been comfortable to bed down in. Irresistible. Not that he’d tried to resist a perfectly serviceable bed in the middle of the –

It had been evening. 

Night.

Morning.

He took in the dappling of light across his forearms, watched the way it filtered in through vibrant green leaves. It was early spring, he realized. When he’d fallen asleep, there were no trees. Just a dusty crossroads and a shady sign. 

He shook his head. Tried to remember.

He’d had a chocobo. A chocobo and – Ah. 

Must be Gladio’s doing.

“Gladio?” he called. No answer from his Shield. He should probably worry about that. 

Dust tickled his nose and he sneezed. When he looked down, the ground was still the deep, satisfying green of the moss that had proven so comfortable while he was asleep. No crossroads, no disrespectful chocobo, no royal retainers.

Something was definitely off. 

Ignis would know what to do.

“Ignis?”

The strange, faraway pipes were his only answer.

He scratched behind his ear and looked around. A small footpath led into the forest, beckoning him.

That wasn’t creepy at all.

“Guess I’m on my own,” he muttered, and started down the trail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love fairy tales and I love to scream about these boys even more, so feel free to drop a comment!
> 
> [Come find me on Tumblr.](https://itsalwaysbloodmagic.tumblr.com/)


End file.
